


A Priestess's Duty

by Krazychick10101



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Blood Knights, Cross-species Relationship, F/M, Injured Character, Language Barrier, Llane is stupid and you haven't even met him yet, Prisoners, Racial slurs, Rhaegara is an Anchorite, Sin'dorei, Takes place in Bloodmyst, The Light, Vomiting, Wounds, alliance/horde relationship, draenei - language, draenei/blood elf relationship, nursed back to health, stab wounds, thalassian - language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 06:06:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8612155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krazychick10101/pseuds/Krazychick10101
Summary: Her breast heaved as she sat the mace back down, it was far to heavy for her to hold up now that the adrenaline was beginning to wear off. The Sunhawk blood elf moaned, but remained unconscious. Blood flowed from the wound she had inflicted on his forehead, adding to what soaked his armor from the Vindicators before her blow had finally taken him down. "Good job, Anchorite!" One of the large Vindicators clapped her hard on the back, sending her forward a few inches. "I've never seen a priestess do something like that before!"She glanced back at the blood elf on the ground. She shouldn't do it. But Rhaegara was far to kind to just leave him there.





	1. Act 1

The Vindicators were wrong in their decision to bring her into this battle. 

Rhaegara was doing her best to defend herself, she was by no means helpless, but her ability to call upon the light only protected her so much. She had now armed herself with a polearm, swinging it best she could while trying to keep Vindicator Melos at her back alive. The oaf couldn’t guard to save his life. 

Unaware to the Draenei who had come to break the Sunhawk camp up, there was a Blood Knight among their midst. While his loyalties remained with Liadrin and her congregation, he had to keep up appearances to these traitors, and destroying the healer would certainly help his case. It might even dispel Sironas’s doubts in him, allowing him to slip seemlessly into their ranks and destroy them from the inside. 

He scanned the Draenei forces and locked onto his prize.

“ _There you are_.” A blood elf snarled in Thalassian, cutting through the swath towards the young priestess being shielded by Draenei knights. She was easy prey, so small, too much faith in her ‘Light’. 

Rhaegara let out a screech as the blood elf paladin fell upon her right behind Melos’s back. Her weapon fell out of her hands but fortunately, so did the blood elf’s. Unfortunately, he was bigger than her. 

She scratched at his face, and he punched her in the ribs, knocking the wind out of her. Her ears rang. Something big fell next to her face, the Vindicator she had been healing must have dropped it. She watched the blood elf reach for his belt, there was a knife in his belt. Rhaegara reached for the heavy thing that fell beside her, she wrapped her fingers around the thin-feeling stem and _swung_ at the paladin’s face.

His whole body twisted to the side and crumbled under the blow from the mace she had hit him with. 

Her breast heaved as she sat the mace back down, it was far to heavy for her to hold up now that the adrenaline was beginning to wear off. The Sunhawk blood elf moaned, but remained unconscious. Blood flowed from the wound she had inflicted on his forehead, adding to what soaked his armor from the Vindicators before her blow had finally taken him down.

"Good job, Anchorite!" One of the large Vindicators clapped her hard on the back, sending her forward a few inches. "I've never seen a priestess do something like that before!"

She glanced back at the blood elf on the ground. She shouldn't do it. But Rhaegara was far to kind to just leave him there.

“Rhaegara? Come now, we must go tell the Trimuvirate that we’ve cleared this area.” The Vindicator who had congratulated her bent down. “If you cannot walk I can carry you back, sister.” He glanced down at the blood elf paladin she had dropped. “Do not worry too much about him, he will expire soon enough.” 

“No that’s not-- Do not worry about me, brother. I appreciate your concern. You can all return, there is something here I want to check first, I’m sure I can defend myself from what is left.” She said, concealing her motives. “I want to see if I can find some of their priest’s notes. He mentioned something about the Light ‘serving him’.” 

“Well alright.” They had bought it. “We will see you back at Blood Watch sister.” 

She maimed looking for a book while they could still see her, but as soon as they disappeared from her view Rheagara began scrounging around for fabric to make bandages from. She salvaged cloth from several dead blood elves, ripping it into strips to apply to his wounds. She went through there packs and unfortunately found no other medical supplies, it was likely this camp had only just been set up. She cursed to herself and pulled out her canteen so she could clean his wounds. 

Laying out her ramshackle medical supplies next to the paladin, and reached forward tentatively to remove his armor. She was rather afraid he would wake up the moment she began unstrapping his jerkin but he remained soundly unconscious. The blow she had given him must have really put him out. 

His jerkin was a complete mess, tattered and bloodied, there was no way she could salvage it, so she set it aside and began to work on his chest, using the water in her canteen to wash away the blood only to find the many groves and stabs carved on his chest were larger than she thought and looked much more threatening than she originally feared. Feeling lucky, she set her hands palms-down on his body and murmured a quick prayer to the Light, hoping it would heal him. 

The Light answered her, the most threatening stabs healed and became shallow, but that was all. The Light retreated after that, and deep down Rhaegara knew it was because the Fel saturated his system. 

As she dressed his wounds, her mind jumped through hoops as it tried to reason how she could get this blood elf into her tent without being noticed by the guards for Blood Watch. There was a changing of the guard, but it was at midnight and midday, and midday had passed already. If she could get the blood elf to last till midnight, she could sneak him into her tent in the five minute window she had. It was slim, and could be considered treason if discovered, but she couldn’t shake a feeling of duty. This man was hurt, and not only that, but she could teach him about her people, and he could return changed for the better to his own. 

\\(|)/

The rustling of hooves alerted Rhaegara to the changing of the guard. 

She stood up and crept out of her tent as quietly as possible, using the noise the guards made as they went to wake up the next shift to her advantage as she snuck down to the place where she hid the blood elf. He was underneath a tree with a bloodstained cloak thrown over him in a vain attempt to shield him from others. She had a sinking feeling he still hadn’t woken up and when she got to his hiding place, she was right. 

It worried her. Perhaps the blow to his head had been too much, but she had to remind herself, Draenei warriors had survived much worse, as well as hard-headed orcs she had observed on Draenor, so perhaps all was not lost. 

Rhaegara looped her arms underneath his armpits and began to drag him up the dirt path to Blood Watch, praying she still had time. She heard people talking, the guards were still trying to wake a few people up. She heard hooves, Rhaegara started to sweat, her nostrils flared. Her breathing picked up and she felt like cursing for a brief moment. 

The hoof noises got louder, she whimpered, dragging the blood elf to the side and pushed him behind a building made from a piece of the Exodar. She tried her best to calm down, breathing out of her mouth in an attempt to control her breathing. 

“Anchorite, why are you up? Is something wrong?” A familiar voice asked. It was Melos. Fear prickled in her again. Must she lie to even her best friend?

“I was going to the bathroom.” She said quickly. “But I forgot where it was.” 

Melos considered this for a moment. She licked her lips nervously. _By the Light, please believe me_.

“Rhaegara, your mind is going. The bathroom is back by the tents.” He chuckled. “I’ll see you in the morning!”

“See you in the morning, Melos.” She smiled as he walked away, breathing deeply. Thank the Light, he had bought it. 

She continued to drag the blood elf to her tent, trying her best not to wake anyone up as she dragged his body through the camp. For a brief moment of panic, she thought she was not at her tent only to recognize the little charm she had hung in the front as a form of decoration when she had tried to brighten up their new home. 

Once they were both situated inside of her tent, safe from being discovered at least for now, she allowed herself a moment to be pleased with herself. She had managed to avoid suspicion. After the ordeal, she took out her diary and began to write. 

“ _Oh diary, I have no idea what I have just done_.”


	2. Act 2

It took two days for the blood elf to recover enough to come to consciousness. Fortunately, it happened while Rhaegara was in her tent, rolling bandages for injured Draenei when his eyes fluttered open. 

The Blood Knight moaned softly as the light hit his eyes painfully, raising an impossibly heavy arm to block it out. The ground was soft, impossibly soft-- it wasn't grass. He wasn't in the camp anymore. His head, particularly his forehead, throbbed steadily, like someone was constantly pounding against his forehead. He licked his lips with a swollen tongue, trying to say something, _anything_ , but his throat felt like sandpaper, even breathing burned. His body was significantly weakened, being cut off from any mana had a harsh effect on him. A rustling of cloth came from next to him and he rubbed his eyes, trying to open them again. 

Suddenly a hand was over his mouth. It smelled like roses. 

“Shhh.” Rhaegara cooed. “ _Safe_.” She said the only Thalassian word she knew. “ _Safe_.”

“ _I--_ ” his words caught painfully in his throat, burning down his windpipe. 

“You need to be quiet.” She whispered. “You will be discovered if not.” 

He took his hand off of his eyes and looked up at his savior only to discover with disgust that it was one of those blue-skinned aliens. He opened his mouth again and she hissed at him again in her strange language, and repeated “safe, safe”. 

“Stubborn, are we?” She muttered. “Do you want water? I don't want to start you on solid food just yet, you may be suffering from a concussion.” She poured some water from her canteen into a bowl. “Come, let me help you sit up.” 

He flinched at her touch, trying to cringe away from her. That knowing look in his eyes told her he recognized her, he knew she had been the one who knocked him out. Truth be told, he looked like one of the cornered animals that wandered into Blood Watch by accident. 

Eventually, with much patience and the grace of the Naruu, she managed to ease her arm underneath his shouldered. Easing him up was a bit harder, as he was heavier than her, and was in a decent amount of pain. 

“Agh--” he grunted as she tried easing him up. She cooed to him, trying to soothe him in his wound-up and pained state. She made a mental note to gather herbs to ease his pain when he was asleep again. 

“Okay, let's try again.” She once again helped him lean up enough to take a few sparse sips of water, enough to wet his lips and throat, before settling him back down to rest for a moment. They repeated this cycle till he had drained the bowl. 

“Thirsty, are we?” She chuckled, putting the bowl down. At least his color was a bit better. 

Despite him pinking up, he wasn't looking too good. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, keeping them squinted like the light hurt his eyes. Rhaegara got up to go see if she had some herbs to help stashed away. _There must be something here that I picked up-- but these plants are different from Draenor’s_. She would have to experiment. 

The blood elf’s stomach roiled, and the light wasn't helping. The need for magic knawed at him, even as the rest of his body rebelled against him. His whole body broke out into a cold sweat, and with the next nauseous swell, he shot up, wounds screaming, twisting to the side in a violent dry heaving fit. The blue-skinned eredar ran over to him, probably cursing in her own language as what little was in his stomach made a reappearance. 

Rhaegara considered the herbs currently in her hands and tentatively sniffed the bruiseweed. She blanched at the unpleasant smell. No, that would probably make his nausea worse. She looked at the white flowers and silver-toned leaves for a moment and remembered what the first aid attendant had said to her. 

She quickly crushed them up together, trying to make them as soupy as she could, but the best she could manage was a paste-like consistency. This is why she didn't make potions for a living. While she couldn't pour this down his throat, she could put it in his bandages. 

When she was satisfied, she took the healing paste and smeared it on the inside of a new bandage. They had been meant for the injured Draenei, but one wouldn't be missed, and it was going to a good cause. 

She quickly threw a rag over the small puddle of sick before kneeling back down next to him, laying the bandage down so she could pull off his old bandages. She cringed internally as she noted the dried blood crusted in his hairline and soaked into the bandage. On the positive side, the bleeding had stopped. He hissed at her, weakly batting at her. 

Rhaegara pressed the medicated bandage against his forehead and his pained growling stopped and his body relaxed. “Good, good.” She stroked his cheek in an almost comforting manner. 

“ _Arkhana._ ” He groaned. “ _O’ebon arkhana._ ” 

Rhaegara didn't understand him, and it showed. She tried to switch to orcish, hoping he could understand the tongue of his allies. 

“ _Do you speak orcish? Tell me what you need_.” She said, trying to keep it as simple as possible. 

He considered this development for a moment, before speaking in broken orcish; “ _Magic, magic, need magic_.” 

Rhaegara didn't want to lie to the caregiver, but her potions were subpar at best, and she was sure she got lucky with the healing paste. Perhaps she could get a man's potion from Melos, he had tons, unlike her, he was much better at alchemy and gave them out to the mages whenever they looked tired. 

“ _Stay_.” She said to the blood elf, ducking out of her tent. 

Upon seeing her, Melos’s face lit up. “Rhaegara! How are you?” He scooped her up in a hug.

“I'm great Melos, how kind of you to ask.” She hugged him back, already feeling her pulse quicken. 

“Do you need anything? Oh! Are you gonna go out again? I can come with you!” He offered. Rhaegara always appreciated his willingness to help. 

“No no, I just need a mana potion.” She said. His face contorted in confusion at her request, and before he could say anything, she supplied a very false reason. “I want an example-- I'm trying to practice my alchemy skills but my mana potions keep coming out green.” 

Melos looked stunned for a moment and she was afraid he was going to say no, when instead; “By the light-- green?” He cringed, nose wrinkling. “Of course you can have on as an example, but-- green?” He handed over one of his vials, and she clutched it tightly. “Come over to my tent some time and I'll show you how to really mix some potions.” 

Rhaegara laughed nervously, trying to play it off like it was at him. “Maybe I will.” She flashed him a smile. “See you later.” 

“Alright, bye…” He waved at her, confused. She did that a lot the last few days. 

She ran back to her tent, nearly tripping over her own hooves in her haste. She prayed no other Draenei got suspicious of her actions as she ducked inside. 

“ _I'm back, I'm back_.” She told the blood elf in a quiet voice, though she knew it did little to quell him. She could tell the arcane withdrawal hurt him along with his injuries, and handed over the vial of mana to him with little hesitation. “ _Calm, calm_.” 

With the fervent speed of a madman, he uncorked the vial and gulped down the potion in a manner of seconds. Blue liquid trickled out of the corners of his mouth from his haste, and when it was empty, he seemed to calm for the moment. After a few minutes of not stirring, she heard a snore. He had fallen asleep. 

She sighed. “What have I gotten myself into?”


	3. Act 3

The second time the blood elf came to, it was much less chaotic. He took water and kept it down, he didn't plead for magic, and only grunted in displeasure when she went to change his bandages. His head seemed to hurt him the most, and for good reason.

When she examined it, the swelling had gone down. It was still dark purple, with greenish edges. At least it had stopped bleeding. She was grateful she hadn't caused a brain bleed or any significant damage that she could immediately see, despite his slow recovery. 

“ _I am sorry_.” She switched to orcish so he could understand. “ _I hit you_.” 

The blood elf let out a weak chuckle at her words, but it quickly dissolved into a violent coughing fit. Rhaegara came to his aid, praying whatever noises may be outside would cover up his coughing. She held a rag up to his mouth, hoping it was only phlegm and not blood. 

“Deep breaths, deep breaths.” She soothes. “ _Deep breaths._ ” 

It took a few moments for him to finally settle down, but the fit eventually tapered off till he was breathing steadily again. She did what all good medics do and checked the expulsions, found them to be fine and threw it away. As long as there was no blood and it wasn't green or brown he would be fine, it was just building up from him laying on his back. 

“ _Knew priest hit me. Good hit._ ” He cracked a smile at her. She didn't know whether to trust him or not. 

“ _I didn't mean for it to be so hard. I'm a healer_.” She said, grabbing more bandages so she could change the wrappings on his abdomen. 

The blood elf tried to say something else, but the words again stuck in his throat and burned all the way back down. He cringed, bringing his head up as if he was about to curl in on himself only to jar his skull, sending a shot of pain over his forehead. “Argh--” he reached up and touched his forehead, only to send another stab of pain through his skull. 

“Are you alright?” Rhaegara asked on reflex, not thinking to translate it to orcish for him. 

He groaned and ghosted his fingers over his forehead. He tried not to touch it, the first time he did, he only made the pain worse. He couldn't gather together the mental strength to use what little orcish he knew to tell her how he felt. He didn't want to open his mouth. He tipped on to his side, ignoring the stab of pain in his torso as he curled up into the fetal position. 

He heard the blue eredar speaking in her weird tongue once again, no doubt prodding him to try and roll onto his back again. He only gripped the sides of his head tighter, squeezed his eyeballs, tried 

to curl up into an even smaller ball than he already had. 

After a few moments, Rhaegara gave up on trying to get him to lay flat again. It was obvious he was going to be in that position till the pain he was feeling passed. 

There was one way she could soothe him. Back on Draenor, it always put the children to sleep and comforted the sick. 

She settled down next to him, tentatively placing a hand on his forehead. He flinched a little at first, but settled down when she started gently stroking his hair. Her fingers caught in the snarls, there was blood and dirt tangled up in his locks, the color was nearly indistinguishable if not for the little strip of strawberry blonde hair close to his scalp. 

What sounded to be a whimper forced its way out of his throat, and she shushed him, cooing softly. In a low voice she began to sing a Draenei lullaby. Though he could not understand, she knew he would be lulled to sleep by the cadence of the song. 

It seemed to work. Despite their language barrier, the lullaby was working. The blood elf relaxed under her hand, calmed by the singing. When he started to snore, she knew her idea had been successful. 

\\(|)/

When the blood elf woke up a few hours later, Rhaegara had been writing in her diary. She was documenting this whole fiasco while keeping her unintentional treachery a secret. When he sat up, she jumped-- surprised --and put her diary down. 

His color was better, his eyes had cleared up. The sleep and mana potion seemed to have done him some good. 

“ _What do I call Eredar savior?_ ” He spoke, almost jokingly. “ _Or do I keep calling you blue-skin?_ ” 

Rhaegara chuckled at him. “ _I am Rhaegara. Who are you, elf? You are not like the other elves_.” 

“ _Llane_.” He said. “ _I am Llane._ ” 

“ _It's nice to meet you, Llane_.” She gave him a warm smile. “ _You slept for a while. Are you feeling better?_ ” 

“ _Felt better. Liadrin will not be pleased._ ” 

“ _Who is Liadrin?_ ” 

“ _Can not say_.” He shook his head. He didn't trust this-- Rhaegara. Not yet. There was no guarantee her species would side with the Horde. 

“ _Well if you cannot tell me about Liadrin, can you tell me about the Sunhawks?_ ” She asked, moving over to her cooking area to make some tea. She might have been bad at Alchemy, but not at cooking.

“ _Traitors. Loyal to Kael’thas_.” He spat the prince’s name with disgust, like the word itself made him sick. Llane had no love for his former prince, having left them addicted to the fel while messing around with the betrayer and the naga in Outland.

Traitors. The remark surprised and confused Rhaegara. If the Sunhawks were ‘traitors’ as he had so labeled them, why was he with them? 

“ _Then why were you among them?_ ” 

“ _Spying. I have no loyalty for Kael’thas_.” Again when he said Kael’thas’s name his expression turned to one of disgust. 

Rhaegara handed him a cup of tea. It was probably safe to give him something now, besides, he needed something in his stomach. “ _It's not poisoned, I promise_.” 

She could understand his further distrust, if he had any. After all, he had woken up in a place he didn't recognize being taken care of by a woman who wasn't even his species. Then his issue with magic was another bump that will have to be addressed again if it was an addiction. 

Llane downed the tea in one gulp. He trusted her. From what they had observed of these people before, they were too good to use poison. What had happened to Matis was just a fit of uncontrolled passion on that ‘Vindicator’’s part. 

There came the sound of hooves outside, but Rhaegara had learned not to be weary. It was just the guard passing, or someone heading to their own tent. It was not until the flap burst open that she realized she should not have allowed herself to be lulled into this false sense of security. 

“Rhae I need-- what the _hell_ is this?” Melos roared.


	4. Act 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> its intense my dude.

Melos dragged Llane to the center of camp by his dirty hair. Llane screamed, the wounds in his abdomen and to his head no doubtedly cried out themselves for their mistreatment. He shouting in Thalassian, kicking and fighting against Melos but it was no use. The vindicator was far stronger than both him and Rhaegara, who trailed them, begging for Melos to stop. 

“Melos stop, please! He's injured badly, he could die! Melos please!” She ran after him, as he dumped Llane unceremoniously at the feet of Vindicator Kuros.

“What is this?” The Vindicator growled. “Where did you find it?” Vindicator Saruan’s death seemed to have changed him, made him harder to other people. And cruel to the species who murdered him. 

“In-- in Rhae’s tent sir.” Melos sounded like he himself could not believe it. His own friend, harboring a blood elf. 

“Sir you must understand, he means no harm! He is spying on them, he has no love for their leader! Ask him and he will tell you himself, I promise!” Rhaegara’s voice turned into a drone in the Vindicator’s head. Just another noise.

Kuros looked down at the blood elf. Llane lay whimpering at his feet, no doubt from the pain. His hair covered his face, but Kuros could bet he was afraid. They all were afraid, they were a race of cowards and heathens. He saw something, a flash of blue. 

“Hold, little girl. You are in trouble, Anchorite. You are a traitor. You will be punished.” He spat, pushing Rhaegara away from Llane. “I should kill you right here!” 

“Please Vindicator he was injured badly. He's not with the Sunhawks he--” 

“Ha! He was lying to you, filling your head with lies, can you not see, girl? He is--” 

“Kuros.” Vindicator Boros interrupted. “I think we should allow The Prophet to decide their fates. It is only right. He speaks to the Light, and the Anchorite is a servant of the Light. Only it may truly judge her.” 

Rhaegara swallowed a cry. They didn't believe her. She was in conflict with herself, she shouldn't blame her people for reacting this way, but at the same time, she had tried to explain to them and they wouldn't listen. 

“You.” Kuros pointed to Melos. “Take these two to the cell. I will call Velen and then we shall do as he decrees.” 

That was when she lost it. Rhaegara started to sob as she felt Melos grab her roughly by the shoulders, directing her towards the cell where they kept the captured Sunhawk agent. He dragged Llane behind them, while prodding her with his finger. She felt unlistened, alone, and betrayed. 

She continued to weep as she was forced into the cell, her face in her hands. Llane was tossed in after her and the cell door firmly locked. Sealed, just like her fate. 

Llane groaned from his position on the floor. He could hear the Sunhawk agent muttering in Thalassian. That traitor didn't deserve to use Thalassian. He struggled to get up. 

Then he felt Rhaegara’s gentle hands helping him up to a sitting position. He grunted quietly as he sat up, grasping at his side, where one of his worst wounds were. 

“ _I am sorry, Rhaegara. Guess this my fault._ ” He was beginning to struggle with the words. He hadn't learned as much Orcish as he thought. 

“ _It's alright._ ” She sniffled. It was not alright. She hadn't stopped weeping since they were put in the cell. Even now, she wiped her eyes as tears silently fell down her cheeks. 

Llane wondered for a brief moment what it felt like to have his entire race unified. No blood elves, high elves, felborne elves, Sunhawks, or half elves; just elves. Not only that, but they all would get along. The blue eredar seemed to be a biological split from the original eredar, but evolution had carried them far away from their origins. Now he imagined what it would be like to have his entire race turn against him for something he did out of compassion. 

“ _This.. Prophet. He will listen to you_.” Llane suggested. 

“ _He might, but I doubt that will spare me_.” She sniffed, letting out another sob. “ _What if even The Prophet cannot see the truth?_ ”

“ _You call him Prophet for reason_.” 

The Sunhawk, whom had been relatively quiet up to that point, began to chuckle. It steadily rose in volume, as if mocking him and Rhaegara. 

“ _Look at you._ ” He cackled in Thalassian. “ _Speaking Orcish to a mere Draenei! And I didn't think you followers of the ‘Regent-Lord’ could sink any lower._ ” 

“ _I may be injured but I can still kill you_.” Llane growled. 

“ _Of course you can! Maybe the whelp can help you, even!_ ” He continued his tirade. Llane wanted to at least get a hit in, but the look on Rhaegara’s face told him no. He shouldn't dig his hole any deeper. 

Rhaegara lifted her face from her hands and pressed her face to the bars as she heard the hum of the communicator. It was warming up to contact Velen so he may decide her fate. The Interrogator and the guards looked at her with disgust, as though her fulfilling her duty as an Anchorite was now filthy. 

She turned away from the bars, feeling ill at the sight of the tech working to bring the communicator online. Llane sensed her unease and scooted over closer to her, though from his grunts it was a painful endeavor. 

“ _They are calling Prophet_.” He observed, switching to Orcish for her. 

Rhaegara put her head in her hands once again. “ _I think I'm about to be sick, Llane_.”

Llane looked back out the bars at the tech. An image of what he could only assume was the Prophet was in their communicator. Vindicator Kuros was pointing to the cell and motioning to the guards to bring out him and Rhaegara. 

Rhaegara once again began to cry. This was not how her story was suppose to end. She would explain to the Prophet what had transpired, she would go to any lengths to convince him that Llane and his people were not like this faction. She would not die without a fight. But nonetheless, she was scared. 

The guards brought them out, allowing Rhaegara to walk but dragging Llane. It would appear that he still couldn't walk and she cringed, as they might be doing more damage to him. 

She faced the Prophet, heart hammering in her chest. 

“Anchorite Rhaegara Saragas, I knew this day would come.” The image of Velen said. Rhaegara bowed her head. “Your heart was too great to just leave a dying man. But you have your own piece to say, am I correct?” 

She looked back up at all of the Draenei, the Prophet Velen. These were her brothers and sisters, her companions, her friends. Now she stood at odds with them for someone they saw as an enemy. It was her job to teach them. “Yes, I do, Prophet.” 

Velen nodded for her to say her piece. 

“My friends, this man and his people are not the people we are fighting. He is a spy. The Sunhawks are loyal to a man named Kael’thas, whom this blood elf, Llane, says with great disgust. I emplore you to look past the Sunhawks and not judge their entire people for what this faction has done.” She looked down again. “I am finished, Prophet.” 

“Anchorite, you mercy knows no bounds. Our other healers could learn a thing or two from you. You will spare her.” Velen said. Several people began to speak up, calling her a traitor, but the Prophet silenced them with a wave of his hand. “As for the blood elf, I am afraid he must be executed.” 

Rhaegara’s eyes flew wide. “No!” She shouted. “Prophet if you allow this then we learn nothing! Are we not a compassionate and thoughtful species?” 

The Prophet held up a hand. “You are young. This one’s people fight against the Alliance you and your companions helped at the shores of Azuremyst. I am sorry, Anchorite, but he must be executed for his crimes against our allies.” 

“With all due respect, Prophet, I believe we can do better. We did not come from Draenor to this world to make war, I do not believe we should enter their’s. I believe we could help them achieve peace.” She countered. 

“Hold your tongue, child. You are in no position to make such offers.” Kuros said to her. 

“ _Leave her alone_.” Llane growled. He understood none of what was being said, but he did feel a protective swell in his chest for the woman who saved his life. A guard kneed him in the chest for speaking and he shrieked in pain as wounds reopened and bled anew. 

Rhaegara dove for Llane the second he screamed, catching him before he could fall. “Please Prophet, I am begging you.” 

Velen shook his head. “He must be punished for past crimes to our allies.” 

Her mind was made up. At that moment, with Llane bleeding in the dirt, with her all but forsaken to the Draenei, she made her decision. She called upon the Light, reaching out of her mind further than she had before. Beseeching the Light for aid. 

“Then I am no longer an Anchorite.” She muttered as she unleashed a massive rain of Holy Fire down on her former allies.


	5. Act 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Llane and Rhaegara get away, poor Rhaegara makes an unfortunate discovery. See end of chapter for more notes!

“Hang on Llane.” Rhaegara said through gasps for air. His own ragged breathing hung in her ear from where his head sat on her shoulder. She shifted his weight from where he rested on her back. 

She had picked him up after her initial attack on her own people. His body rested on her back, while she looped her hands around his legs to keep him there. He wasn't light, keeping him on her back was a challenge, especially while running. Not to mention at the moment he was a dead weight. 

She could definitely still hear them behind her, she thought she had lost them when she ran close to the satyr camp, but apparently even that wouldn't deter them. Her calves burned as she kept running, arms burning from having to keep ahold of Llane. Even the Light would not sustain her much longer. 

Llane moaned in her ear. He was waking up! This was both good and bad. 

Rhaegara slid behind a tree, hoping to loose them. As she heard Llane draw a breath, she quietly went “Shh.” as the vindicators ran past. She turned to walk away. 

Her hoof came down on a twig. 

As it snapped, she held her breath. Llane, whose torso was pressed to her back, inhaled and held it in his lungs. Rhaegara prayed. 

“Rhae.” A firm voice whispered. She felt her heart almost stop in her chest, a knot forming in her throat. It was Melos. 

She bit her lip and turned around, adjusting Llane’s weight. She feared for herself, she feared for Llane. She knew she could never go back to her people.

“Are you taking me back now?” She asked him. 

Melos dropped his weapon. “No. Rhae, I do not condone what you did-” 

“I do not either. It was rash, and I hurt people. I know I cannot come back, I am fine with that. I do not expect them to listen to me either. My apologies will mean nothing, but that is okay.” She looked down briefly. “I know it is my penance.” 

Her friend looked at her, long and hard. It may be the last time he ever saw her. “Go.” He said. “But I don't want to see you again.” 

“I won't forget this Melos.” 

“Quickly, before they come look to see why I'm taking so long.” 

Rhaegara ducked back into the brush, Llane still on her back, walking away from her way of life, her friend, and her people. The moment she turned her back from him she was a priestess no longer. 

The Light had forsaken her. 

She found this out only after she had stopped on a secluded part of Azuremyst, by a stream. Llane was sitting up nearby. She couldn't seem to heal her scrapes like she used to. The Light no longer hummed in the back of her head. 

This was frustrating. This was worrying. Was she being punished for pitting the Light against its most loyal followers? But even orc priests kept their powers after their dark deeds. Was it her thinking? Did she make the wrong choice? 

Tears welled up in her eyes. 

You did this to yourself. She reminded herself, trying to remain calm. If you truly have been forsaken, you only have yourself to blame. She swallowed the lump in her throat, and willed her eyes to be dry. 

“ _Something wrong?_ ” Llane asked. He was trying to be more empathetic to his rescuer. She had given up everything to keep him alive. 

“ _No, no. It is fine. It would appear I have lost my power. The Light no longer obeys me._ ” She explained. To her surprise, Llane cracked a smile. 

“ _We can fix it. Silvermoon has Sunwell_.” He said. “ _It is where my power comes from_.” She cocked her head to the side. How could this Sunwell provide the same holy magic that the Naruu did?

“ _I.. do not follow. Forgive me_.” She admitted. This Sunwell, whatever it was, would most likely reject her as well, as she wasn't a blood elf. 

Rhaegara began to worry. Without her power, she wouldn't be able to heal Llane’s ills, and her own wounds. What would these blood elves that Llane had described treat her like? She was so different from them, she was not even from their planet! On top of that, she was facing an unknown world unarmed, without the Light to guide her or protect her. 

She felt tears begin to well up once more. She had forsaken herself to her people even after all she had done here on Azuremyst. She had helped the Stillpine, she healed injured Draenei at the crash site, she had helped Captain Odysseus, yet she threw it away because she wouldn't allow some blood elf to die. She struggled to rationalize her actions, reasoning that it was cruel to punish a man for the actions of his people that he may have not even done himself. However, she attacked others in an attempt to protect this one man. One she knew little about. 

Llane shifted uncomfortably. He didn't know what to do in this situation. He was incredibly grateful to Rhaegara, she had saved his life more than once! But now he was in a situation where they may not fit anywhere, and on top of that, she was crying. He was bad at comforting people when they were crying. 

“ _Do not cry, it will be okay_.” He patted her back, trying to comfort her. 

She sniffled, wiping her eyes. “ _Enough of that. Do you have any weapons on you?_ ” 

Llane bent forward with a grunt of pain, reaching slowly, ever so slowly, for his right boot. He grasped at it desperately, fumbling with it for a few moments before grabbing onto the handle of a dagger. He smiled and jerked it out, still in its scabbard. 

“ _I do_.” He chuckled, brandishing the dagger as if he were a child showing off a new toy. 

“ _At least we are not completely defenseless_.” She offered him a smile. 

“ _You use it. I am not of much use_.” He meant to add ‘at the moment’, but those word’s orcish translations were lost to him. 

Rhaegara reached forward for the dagger tentatively. Her hand hovered nervously right in front of the blade. This weapon was dangerous. This weapon was _personal_. It scared her, as a priestess (former priestess, she reminded herself), because of the power it would give her, power she had wielded before, but in the opposite direction. Now instead of life, it would be death. 

She took the dagger. 

Llane beamed with pride as she examined it. The scabbard had words in what was probably his own language scrawled on it, with a beautifully wrought yellow and red hilt ending in a golden bird. She slowly withdrew it from its sheath, it was a good length, a bit unbalanced, but she could use it in a pinch. 

“ _Thank you Llane_.” She smiled at him, tucking the dagger into her belt. 

She set to work, making a mini camp for them to rest at. They were no where near Azuremyst Watch or the Exodar, so she assumed that this place would be safe, for now. Llane helped too, he lit a fire and, with the few small fish Rhaegara had managed to catch, began to cook supper. 

As Rhaegara was washing cloth bandages to reuse in the river, she thought she heard a faint whisper. It sounded like it had been carried on the wind, like someone far off was calling. She thought nothing of it. 

“... Rhae..” The voice echoed. It was not Llane. 

“Who's there?” She asked, the voice seemed to speak Draenei. 

Llane looked up at her, confused, but she put a finger to her lips. She strained to hear. 

“.. Rhae, do not be afraid. It is only I, the water.” 

“It is only I, the wind.” 

“It is only I, your fire.” 

“It is only I, the earth beneath your feet.” 

“You are lost.” The voice carried by the wind said. “I the wind have come to guide you.” 

“I the water have come to heal you.” 

“I the earth am here to strengthen you.” 

“I the fire am here to embolden you.” 

“Rhaegara Saragas, outcast of the Draenei people, we come to offer you a new path.” 

“What is that?” Her heartbeat quickened. Is this how the great Farseer Nobundo felt when he first met the elements? 

“The path of a Shaman.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I somewhat modeled the last bit from Nobundo's story "Unbroken" in the book Paragons, where they came in his time of need. However, I do intend to give the elements their own sense of personality.


	6. Act 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not very graphic, but someone gets maimed. Someone gets really hurt. This is probably the end of this work at least, also, points if you can find the "The Last Of Us" reference (it's not hard). Enjoy!

She sat at the edge of the expanse of water separating Azuremyst from Bloodmyst. It was tranquil. Serene. The perfect place to practice the elements. 

Rhaegara muttered a quick prayer to the elements, and a bubble of water floated up from the river. She sighed and waved it around a bit, but it burst and the water splashed back into the main body. She tried again, but found the next bubble not to her liking either, a bit too unstable, and allowed it to fall back into the river. 

“Those all looked great.” Llane said from his place further up the bank. He was propped up against a tree with a blanket wrapped around his legs. A bandage was still wrapped around his forehead, but he was doing well.

“I wanna see if I can catch a fish in it!” She pawed the ground with her hoof. She rubbed her hands together, pushed her headband back further, and muttered a short prayer to the elements. 

Up floated a bubble with a fish in it. Rhaegara lost it. 

“I did it! I did it! Who's the greatest Shaman in all of Azeroth? Rhaegara! Rhaegara!” She did a little dance around the river bank, holding out her hand to take the poor fish along for the ride. 

Llane allowed himself to chuckle a bit, but winced. While his abdominal wounds were certainly better than they were a month ago, his ribs on his right side had been broken. Laughing, coughing, talking, yelling, even breathing too deeply hurt to do. Still, he wouldn't allow injuries to hold him back, he had begun training again, trying to sure up his strength, but Rhaegara would only let him do it in short bursts for now. 

“Put the fish down, would you? You're scaring it to death.” He commented. 

“Hm?” Rhaegara looked over at the fish in the water bubble. She hadn't realized she had taken it for a ride, most of her bubbles burst before now. “I'm getting better with water.” She remarked before gently setting the bubble down on the water’s surface and letting it go, fish in tow. The poor thing shot off like an arrow. 

“Good. You can fix my ribs.” Llane said, holding out a hand to her to help him up as she walked back up the bank. 

“Maybe. If you would let me, I can try later.” She helped him up, carefully easing him up to his feet. Once he was up, she dropped his hand and bent down to pick up the blanket.

“I think I’d be willing to be your test subject.” He sent a small smile her direction. She smiled back, a good-natured one. It had been a while since either of them had done that. 

“Well why thank you Llane. Your sacrifice will not be in vain.” She chuckled, throwing the blanket over her shoulder to free up her hands as they walked back to camp. 

It was a short walk, but when they were both quiet it could get a bit long and awkward. In the midst of the silence, their hands knocked together, and Llane took the opportunity to take her hand again. 

When Rhaegara looked at him, he started swinging their clasped hands back and forth between them. “You know we can't stay here forever. They'll find us eventually.” 

She gave into the swinging. It was harmless, really. “I know, but I was waiting till you got your strength back.” 

Llane pressed his lips into a thin line. “We may not have much more time.” 

“Why not--” 

_KABOOM!_

Rhaegara felt all the blood drain from her face. The explosion had come from Bloodmyst. She let go of Llane’s hand and ran back through the way they came. Like a madwoman, she started running through the water, trying to get a better view. 

Smoke rose up from the back of the island, thick and black. They must have blown the core that the Triumvirate had been looking into. From behind her, she heard the crunching of leaves and heavy breathes as Llane caught up with her. 

“So I think this means they'll have more time to look for us,” he said. 

“Quick, we need to get back to camp-- and pack!” She was running again, this time grabbing his hand and practically dragging Llane behind her. 

Their camp felt off when they got there. Something had been moved, and whomever had been there had taken great pains in trying to make it look as though no one had been. Hoof prints had been stomped out, a sleeping blanket’s corner had been knocked back. Even Llane’s sharpened stick had been moved. 

“By the Sunwell-- I think they know we’re here.” Llane felt unsettled. He cast his gaze around the clearing, straining to see if anyone was hiding behind the trees. 

“Rhae..” He said, craning his neck. That looked like the outline of a spaulder.. “Rhae?”

She wasn't answering, she was already busying herself trying to pack up their little camp. The piece of armor moved. 

“Rhae!” He shouted just as several vindicators jumped out from behind the trees. He dove for his sharpened stick, landing painfully on the ground, but he had his stick. 

“Fire, aid me!” Rhaegara cried, and the campfire lept up, swirling around and lashing out at the vindicators. She thrust her hands in front of herself and the fire surged forward, right towards her former brethren. 

They jumped out of the way, a big male Draenei charged right at her. She ducked, running right out from under his arms. She reached out to the elements once more as the vindicator swung at her again, and a breeze blew him back a few feet. 

While he was trying to get his footing, she wrestled with a female, grabbing for her sword while trying not to die. She punched her in the face, grabbing the woman’s sword and bashing the hilt into her forehead. She wouldn't die, but she would have a nasty headache. She whirled on the male paladin just as he brought his sword down. 

She tried the duck but in her haste she did not get clear. The sword bit hard into her right horn, cleanly severing a good three quarters off, nearly shearing it off to the base. 

Rhaegara stared at the horn in shock, and the male did too, he clearly had not meant to maim her. He looked up at her, and took her by the shoulder, face growing hard. 

“Goodbye, Rhaegara Saragas.” He took the tip of his sword and drug it at an angle across her forehead, right on her rune. 

Rhaegara screamed, thrashing in his grip and catching him in the side with her stolen sword. Blood began to invade her line of vision. He grunted and fell back. A blur-- Llane, probably, fell upon the vindicator as Rhaegara stumbled back, clutching her forehead as tears welled up in her eyes. The pain from her missing horn and forehead was too much, it was too much for her. 

She felt her knees hit the dirt, her tail weakly beat the earth once, twice. She fell on her side and watch the blurry outline of Llane best the last Draenei. 

He ran over to her and shook her, his lips were moving, but she didn't hear what he was saying. She felt dizzy, she felt like she was floating. Further and further and further away. 

Her sleep was dreamless.

\\(|)/

She knew she was very warm. She was wrapped in something fluffy and soft, swaying gently. She heard a subtle creak of wood as something swayed back-and-forth.

Her held felt pressured and stuffy, something was bound tightly around it. Something was missing on her right, the right side of her head felt light, so light. Something had happened. 

Something fast had happened. She remembered the blur, the blur that was Llane. Still dirty, hair so dirty, and he was still injured. He fought injured to save her. She was grateful. But something had happened to her, something bad…

Oh! Her horn! Her right side felt so very light, no wonder. 

She felt tears. Her horn had been cut off. She allowed herself to have a little cry down her in the mysterious dark room she was in, comforted with the soft blanket. 

When she finally rose from where she lay, the world swam, even in the dark she thought things were moving. She put her head in her hands, breathing in through her nose, out through her mouth.

Once steadied, she looked around, her eyes growing used to the dark. She was in a large hammock, wrapped in what turned out to be furs. The room was wooden, and swayed back and forth, causing the hammock to do the same. If she had to guess, she was on a boat. 

She slowly put her feet to the floor. She had to do everything slow. She didn't know how long she had been asleep, but evidently it was long enough that her joints had stiffened. She noticed she was even still wearing her old tattered acolyte’s dress.

She made her way slowly to the door, leaning up against the wall for support. She distinguished the door from the rest of the wall by the light seeping in from underneath the crack by the floor. With slow, clumsy fingers she fumbled with the doorknob and opened it slowly. 

Her eyes watered. The light from outside was stronger than expected. She rubbed her eyes and glanced down the hallway. Empty! 

She leaned up against the wall once more, following it to the deck, using her free hand to shield her eyes. She saw no one else, heard no one else. Was she alone?

“Rhae? You're awake!” Llane seemingly materialized beside her, taking her arm. “Come, I have a place for you to sit.” 

He led her to a part of the deck at the side of the ship, with a wall for her to lean on. She sat down and he draped another fur around her, which she held close. 

“What happened?” She asked him, glancing around the boat. It was beautiful, with purple swirling accents designed to look like leaves. 

“After you passed out, I carried you to a dock. There was a night elf ship so I stole it from several very angry sentinels.” He chuckled. “I'm trying to get us to Zoram’gar Outpost.” 

Rhaegara found her head dipping to the left, and corrected herself. “We’ll be safe there?” 

“The alliance will be breathing down our necks, but they can arrange for us to fly to friendlier territory, I'm sure.” 

“Llane?” 

“Yes?” 

“Back in Blood Watch, Kuros told me you were lying.” 

“So?” 

“So, swear to me that everything you've said is true.” 

Llane looked at her. He considered this for a moment. He hadn't been lying, at least about what he was doing. He didn't know how she would receive the rest of the Horde. But, they were her family now. She had earned it, protecting him. 

“I swear.”

**Author's Note:**

> Aye my frens. This is the first multi-chaptered work I've ever really done. I'm glad ya stopped by, leave kudos if you liked it, bookmark it or follow to stay updated!


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